Hook, Line

And Stinker

Boca Raton

Fishing Festival

Is Catch Of Day.

BOCA RATON — Oh, it was such a big fish. And Christopher Butler, 5, was so proud of himself.

"We do fishing every once in a while," Christopher, of Boca Raton, said smiling at his father, Kit.

"We've [caught) hundreds of them. I like seeing the different kinds of fish," he said.

Christopher didn't catch hundreds of fish Saturday at Silver Palm Park, but he did catch a rather large barracuda.

"We were out there 10 hours and he didn't want to come on shore," Butler said.

The pair were among 85 people who came out to spend a day in the sun and come up with their own fish tails.

The event, the 15th annual Boca Raton Fishing Festival, is part of Boca Festival Days, a monthlong series of 41 events.

The goal, organizers say, is to encourage participation in outdoor sports in an organized, family-oriented program. Only edible fish were counted toward the competition.

Families fished across 15 miles, from Boynton Beach to Deerfield Beach on boats and from shore, said Lonnie Ferro, event spokeswoman.

"This is a good, clean sport that encourages family participation," Ferro said.

"I wouldn't mind to fish all the time, but I sometimes get seasick," said Jeren Nilsen, 9, of Boca Raton. "[My) fish was hard, a tough struggle. My dad had to gaff him for me."

Not everybody was having as good luck as Jeren, who caught a 91/4-pound barracuda. Paul Ferro, 62, of Boca Raton said he hadn't caught a thing all day.

"I'm not doing something right," he said. "I like this, but I'm not catching anything."

But many were finding success.

"I'm having fish for dinner tonight," said William Terry, 5, of Boca Raton, who caught 15 fish including snapper. "This is real fun."

"When you have fish on the line it's fun; you don't know what you have," said Brian Garrett, 10, of Boca Raton. He and his brother, Chris, 13, caught bait fish and blue runners.

Marc Richman, 7, of Boca Raton, said he is ready to make a career out of the sport. He won second place for a 71/2-pound dolphin and third place for an 8-pound kingfish. He was also one of the dozens of children who had their fish printed on paper with paint to always remember exactly how big their catch was.

"It makes you feel good - getting big bites and being with someone," Marc said. "The smell is gross, but catching the big fish is having a good, fun time."